


Family Business

by orphan_account



Category: Block B
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, F/M, Gang, I'll tag more characters later, don Zico is a blessing i'm so glad I wrote this, mob
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-05-23 11:08:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6114625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>mobs aren't really the first concern on somebody's mind. neither are guns trades, turf wars, murder, torture, and nonetheless Woo "Don Zico" Jiho. especially for me.</p><p>but that kind of changes really quickly and by really quickly I mean in a matter of days do i realize i'm completely sucked in and ruined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Titus for convincing me to post this i'm sweating good luck to me !! I'll update every Friday so enjoy !!

"I know I'm late," I rushed through the doors of the small diner, tying my apron tight around my waist. I pushed my hair back as I punched in my clock in code.

"This is the fourth time this month. I should fire you," Jaebum frowned.

"You won't though," I grinned and grabbed a book to stuff into my apron. Jaebum frowned as I walked over to a table to start taking an order. One guy was by himself with the menu closed and on the edge of the table. His hood was pulled over his face and he was hunched over the table. 

"My names Audrey. I'll be helping-" I started, flashing my usual smile.

"Just a coffee," the guy shoved the menu at me. I grabbed it and turned, not wanting to push anymore than that. 

As I prepped his coffee, the door opened and a couple of guys walked into the diner, their eyes darting around until they saw the guy by himself. They walked over, sliding into the booth across from him silently. I walked over, setting the coffee down quietly. 

"We don't need anything. Thank you," one of them told me before I could ask. He was tall, his baby face not matching the rest of his body at all. His lilac hair was pushed back in a messy way that still looked semi styled.

The other smiled at me, "Actually I'll take a coffee as well."

He was noticeably shorter, his dark eyes darting around behind thick glasses. I nodded, going to grab another coffee. 

"Have you talked to Jaebum yet?" the lilac haired one asked. The hooded man shook his head as he sipped from his coffee. "Do you think he'd come back?"

"With how well the diner is, no," the hooded man put down his coffee as soon as I set the other one down. 

"Thank you!" the short man smiled at me, his brown hair falling softly onto his forehead.

"You know we need him," the lilac haired one ignored me. I walked back behind the counter, heading as far away from their booth as possible. Why were they talking about Jaebum?

"Hey," I peaked my head into his office. He glared at me for me to speak, "I think these guys know you."

Jaebum glanced at their booth from the cameras on his computer screen. His face fell and he stood up. "Lock the door as soon as I go over there."

I swallowed, a little scared at what he was doing as he pressed the key into my hand. I followed him out of the office. 

"Pyo, Taeil," Jaebum greeted the two men I could see as I locked the door.

"Jaebum," they nodded.

"Jiho," Jaebum nodded to the other guy.

"Jiho is for my men. I'm Zico to you," the guy looked up and his hood fell. My mouth went dry and I laid my eyes on the most beautiful man I had ever seen. His brown hair was pushed back and shaved short on the sides and his dark eyes glared up at Jaebum. His cheek bones were high on his face and peeked out a little bit from his baby fat. He pulled on his lower cherry red lip and sighed.

"Jiho don't be like that," Jaebum gave him his winning smile.

"We need you back," Zico ignored Jaebum and I stayed frozen.

"You know-" Jaebum started.

"Don't. We don't need you fully back. We just need you're place as a front," Zico sipped at his coffee again. "What do you say?"

"I don't have a choice do I?" Jaebum said after a minute of silence between the four of them.

"You always have a choice," Zico stood up, "It's the consequences you don't have control over."

"Before you go," Jaebum stopped Zico as he tried to step around him, "Let me introduce you to somebody."

The four of them looked at me from my place by the door. I twiddled my thumbs and felt my breath stop in my throat from Zico's gaze. 

"This is Audrey," Jaebum walked over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "She's pretty important here, so if anything happens to me, she takes over."

"What?" I coughed the breath out.

"I still needed to talk to you about that. Sorry," Jaebum shrugged, "You treat her with respect, I'm in."

"Done," Zico smirked, looking me up and down slowly, "Just as long as she understands what's going on, I'm all good."

"She will," Jaebum sighed. 

"I'll be by later to talk logistics with you," Pyo grinned, his hand shooting out to shake Jaebum's, "It'll be great having you back."

I stayed frozen under Jaebum's hand as he shook their hands and unlocked the door for them to leave. He ignored my glare as he locked the door again after they left and turned the sign to say closed on the door. He walked over to the counter and pulled out two milkshake glasses. 

"Peanut butter right?" he asked me.

"What the fuck was that?" I scoffed.

"I'm pretty sure your favorite was peanut butter," he ignored me as he scooped out ice cream on top of a lot of peanut butter syrup.

"You've got to be kidding me," I frowned, sitting down at the bar. "Don't tell me you've gotten me involved in-"

"When I was fourteen," he started, cutting me off as he made two milkshakes for us, "I got caught in between two gangs and kind of started a gang war. It was pretty bad and I was really stupid. I got my brother and my best friend killed. After that, my mom didn't want anything to do with me so I was on the streets."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" I asked.

"I hoped I didn't have to," he frowned, "But now you're involved. Remember during your interview I asked you if you would do anything for those you cared about?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Do you care about me? I don't mean in a romantic way," Jaebum sat one of the milkshakes in front of me, piling a small mountain of whip cream on the top for me.

"You're like a brother to me," I swallowed.

"This is when I need you to do anything for me," he sighed. "When I was on the streets, Zico's mob took me in. I had only dealt with gangs but nothing like the mob. But they took me in and they cared for me until I was standing on my own two feet."

"The mob? Jaebum no," I huffed. "They own this town."

"Once I was able to go out on my own they asked me to do something for them. They asked me to, uh," Jaebum frowned, his eyebrows meeting in a disgusted scowl, "They asked me to kill a guy."

"Who?" I breathed out, my heart thumping wildly.

"Some lowlife drug dealer who pissed off the Don at that time," Jaebum sighed, "He had nobody. No wife. No kids. No family. Just him."

"So that made it okay?" I scoffed.

"It made it okay enough for me to do it," Jaebum snapped back and ran a hand through his dark hair, "I was in too deep and I couldn't get out."

"You could've said no," I tried to reason.

"They would've killed me," Jaebum laughed, "I knew too much and had spent too much time next to the Don. Besides, it wasn't like the guy was innocent or anything. He had killed a bunch of guys himself, so to me I thought I was doing the lesser of two evils."

"Fine," I leaned back, "Continue."

"So after I killed him, they had a couple people dispose of the body and the Don told me I always had a place in his family. So I stayed. About two years ago, the Don retired and Zico took over, and well," Jaebum sighed, "He let me leave and helped me start up this diner as long as I owed him a favor later in life."

"This is his favor then? Letting him use this place as a front?" I frowned, "A front for what anyways?"

"His favor was already cashed in. I got rid of a guy two years ago for him," Jaebum frowned.

"You talk about these things like they're so easy to you," I leaned back after taking a sip from my milkshake.

"These things were normal for me," he reminded me, "It's what I lived with every day."

"So he just came here under the hopes of you agreeing?" I asked, perking an eyebrow up.

"No," Jaebum frowned, "He knew I'd say yes. He has too much information on me for me to say no. He could've killed me and you."

"The guy who was just in here?" I laughed, "He didn't seem like he could hurt a fly."

"You haven't met Jiho," Jaebum laughed, "He's psychotic. He's an animal. He's-"

"Okay I get it," I sucked in a breath, "And you've gotten me mixed into it?"

"You got yourself into this when you applied here," he scoffed.

"How was I supposed to know I'd be involved into the mob when I applied here? It's not like you have it at the top of your applications. 'Oh beware! Mob affiliations!' Funny," I turned around in the chair, standing up.

"You're right," Jaebum frowned as he placed his hands flat on the counter, "I'm sorry."

"I just don't understand what he wants," I crossed my arms. 

"He's going to use this place as a front for guns trade," Jaebum frowned, "He talked about it once. Using a diner as a front for his guns trade but when I opened this place, I said no back then."

"Why could you then and not now?" I asked.

"Then he was nicer. Then he was kinder and knew how much I wanted to get out," he sighed, "Now he's ruthless to get what he wants."

 

The elevator opened into my small loft, the light casting a soft glow inside. The doors closed behind me as I dropped my keys into the bowl by the elevator doors. The darkness greeted me like I was its friend. I breathed in the sweet smell of the last of the incense I was burning before I had left. I felt for the switch and turned on the lamp by the kitchen.

"He had you work late didn't he?" a voice filled the quiet and still space.

"Shit," I yelped. Zico stepped into the light, his dark eyes casting over me. Goosebumps climbed up my body. 

"Nice place," he walked around, flipping on the lights and let the place fill. We were alone, just the two of us standing by the kitchen.

"What do you want?" I set down my coat and pushed my back against the doors of the elevator.

"See it's funny," Zico rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought Jaebum would've filled you in fully, but it doesn't seem like you get it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I inched my hands closer to the button.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Zico crossed the space between us and moved my arm back to my side, pushing the front of a gun into my side.

"What do you want?" I hissed.

He pushed the gun more into my side, "Starting tomorrow there's going to be a new employee. You're going to train him like you would any other employee. There's going to be times when he has to take long breaks. Let him."

"Fine," I bit my tongue.

"Also," Zico's lips were right by my ear, "If anything was to happen to Jaebum, your world is going to get a whole lot worse than this."

"Are you threatening us?" I met his gaze. His eyes searched mine and for a moment I could feel the gun slipping before he shoved it more into my side.

"Jaebum is more important to me than he'll ever be for you. It would kill me to lose him. I just like backup plans," Zico smirked. He smirked as the gun fell from my side. I let out a small breath, the space between us gaining tension. "Do I make you nervous?"

"No," I lied.

"You're cute," he tilted his head to the side. "Don't worry. We'll keep you safe."

"Why should I trust you?" I scoffed. Zico watched my face as he leaned in closer.

"I take care of my family," he let out shakily, "Welcome to the family."

He pulled away and laughed as I let out a long breath. I rolled my eyes. His menacing gaze watched me silently as I swallowed thickly. I looked away; eye contact seemed unbearable, "I'm not part of your family."

"I'll be by periodically to check on you guys. Starting tomorrow," Zico ignored me and winked, sending chills down my spine and giving me another image for my nightmares.


	2. Chapter 2

Zico was at the storefront bright and early at 5 am as I walked up to the front of the diner. He seemed almost normal dressed in skinny jeans, a black hoodie, and a black SnapBack. He smiled at me, cheeks slightly red from the strong winds.

"So," he flipped a coin in his hand, "Do you usually show up this late?"

"It's 5:02!" I scoffed, pulling out the keys to the diner.

"In this business, 5:02 is extremely late," he shook his head and followed me into the small diner. I huffed out, not wanting to continue the conversation. 

"Dear God, this place is so depressing," Zico groaned as I flipped on the lights. The chairs were flipped over on the tables and the covers were over the coffee, milk, and milkshake machines. None of the tables were set and all the shades were pulled closed. It was clean and ready to prepare for opening.

"It's in order," I countered. Zico stared at me for a moment before nodding. I walked to the back to clock in and put all of my stuff down. Zico followed me, his eyes looking over everything around in the back.

"Who else works here?" he asked. His mood seemed brighter than yesterday and I could feel a mood change between us.

"We had a night server, but she quit last week so I've been working overtime to help out," I called out from the office.

"So it's just you and Jaebum?" Zico raised an eyebrow, "That's it?"

"Yep. On his days off, it's just me. Visa versa," I walked out and tied my apron around my waist. "But I've had almost seven years of waitressing experience before this."

"How long have you been here?" he asked tentatively.

"A year," I made my way back out to the front to start prepping everything.

"So wait. You'll cook everything, take all the orders, and cash everybody out? Doesn't it get busy?" Zico scoffed.

"Yeah, so?" I pulled the chairs off the table and started to set them down on the ground.

"I don't get how you can do all of that and still have happy customers," he sat down at one of the bar stools.

"We run on regulars. They know we don't have many servers or cooks so they're all cool with us taking a few minutes longer," I told him as I took off all the covers to the machine. His phone started ringing and I cocked an eyebrow as I started to fill the napkin holders.

"Hello?" he answered, "Yeah come on in. I'll unlock it for you. Hope you're ready to work."

"New guy?" I pursed my lips and watched as Zico opened the door.

"Yeah," he nodded. The door opened slowly and a brunette stood waiting for Zico to usher him inside. The older gestured for him to enter and the dark haired guy looked around. His hair was pushed back and shaved on both sides that was similar to Zico's but a bit more cut back. His dark eyes met mine and he swallowed thickly.

"Hello," he greeted. "I'm Hanbin."

"Audrey," I nodded. 

"So he's going to work here and take care of our business when it comes in. Don't worry, they're not going to come inside and disrupt business at all. Jaebum made sure of that," Zico adjusted his hat. I watched as he ran a hand through his shorter hair.

"Did you cut your hair?" I asked absentmindedly.

He stared at me for a moment before shaking his head slightly, "Yeah. Business meeting."

"Looks good," I nodded before taking out all of the napkin holders to the tables. 

He took a sharp breath in before he put his hat back on his head, "Thanks."

Zico nodded before walking out of the restaurant. Hanbin watched between us and turned back to me eyes wide. I scoffed, "What?"

"He almost looked human for a second around you," Hanbin smirked.

"Okay," I frowned, "How much experience do you have?"

"With what?" Hanbin asked, his dark eyes watching my every move.

"With serving and cooking," I threw an apron his way.

"Oh," he stared at the ground. "Um. None? I mean I know how to cook but no line cook experience. And serving? Probably like two months straight out of school."

"Okay," I swallowed thickly. This was going to be harder than I thought. "We'll start you on drinks for the moment. While I'm setting up, study our full menu. If you're going to be here, then you're going to help out. I don't need any more hindrances when it's just me here today."

"Jay won't be here?" Hanbin shifted awkwardly.

"He doesn't really like to be called that anymore," I snapped as I leaned up against the front counter. I still had to prep the kitchen.

"Sorry," he threw his hands up in a defensive manner, "You take this diner seriously."

"Two days ago, this diner was my only job and I didn't know anything about the mob," I pushed off the counter to head to the kitchen, "So it is pretty serious to me. Now come on."

Hanbin grimaced as he followed me into the back, "This isn't a choice for most of us you know."

"Definitely not a choice alright," I opened a box of eggs and started cracking them into our large mixer.

"Look," Hanbin grabbed my wrist and I twisted around to look at him. "You're lucky. You don't know enough to get killed if you want out. If I wanted a normal life, I'd have to go into witness protection. I don't really have a choice in all of this. You can always quit, leave, and never come back to any of this."

"And exactly how did you get stuck in all of this? Same way with Jaebum?" I ripped my wrist away.

"Not exactly," he clenched his jaw and focused on the floor, "But essentially I got stuck."

"Well look. I am stuck. Jaebum is essentially the only family or support I have. I'm not going to abandon him or this place just because some guy thinks he owns me," I snapped. Hanbin opened and closed his mouth before relaxing. "Go study the menu so that when we open, you can start serving."

"Start serving?" Hanbin cocked an eyebrow. 

"Yeah. I don't need you in the kitchen wasting our food. Plus most everybody in here is a regular so if you get something wrong, I can probably fix it," I tied my hair back and focused on the eggs in front of me.

"Okay," Hanbin stepped back out into the front and I let out a breath of relief before pulling out my phone.

"It's not even six yet and you're calling me," Jaebum laughed when he picked up.

"What did you get me into?" I asked yet again.

"Look," Jaebum yawned, "It's really not that bad. Just work as usual and I'll make sure nothing is different. Besides Hanbin is a good worker. He'll catch on quickly."

"Sure," I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I cracked more eggs.

"I thought you might've thought he was cute," I could hear the smirk through the phone. 

"You have got to be kidding me," I scoffed, "You think I'm going to be focusing on that right now?"

Jaebum was silent for a moment, "I don't know if you get it but I am completely going to make sure you have a normal life."

"I already don't," I muttered.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, "But you will have one again."

"Same for you. You deserve a normal life too," I assured him, standing up to turn the mixer on. "I've got to let you go. I have to prep some green peppers."

"Okay," he yawned again, "Call me if there's any issues."

"Will do. Have a good day off," I pursed my lips as I hung up. It was 5:42. 18 minutes until we opened and I was almost ready for opening.


	3. Chapter 3

Zico's eyes fluttered open as he grabbed onto his gun. His lips parted open as he looked over at his men, armed and ready just in case anything happened. His tongue ran over his teeth and he took a deep breath in.

"Please," the man begged, tears running down his face, "I promise I won't fall  
short again."

"No because you will," Zico let his breath out. "And you'll tell me you won't do it again. But surprise!"

At this, Zico pressed the gun against the man's forehead, his finger waiting patiently at the ready and on the trigger. 

"Please, no," he begged.

"You'll screw me again," Zico lowered the gun. "I could kill you and honestly I don't know why I haven't yet, but my men here tell me you're still loyal to me."

"I am sir," the man bowed his head and leaned down to kiss Zico's shoes.

"Kyung?" Zico looked over to his consigliere. 

"Go for it. There's no consequences that I see," the shorter man crossed his arms. Zico looked back down at the man, his hands running through his hair before shoving the gun at the guy's neck.

"You're lucky this is gonna be quick," Zico smirked as he leaned down to press a small kiss to the man's forehead, "But oh well."

The gun went off and the man crumbled inward, blood spraying out of his neck. Specks landed on Zico's cheek and he wiped it away softly, thanking himself for wearing black today. A couple of soldiers already had the body on the way out as he finished wiping any blood away. Kyung and Mino were already by his side with their phones out ready to give status reports to him.

"How did the opening go this morning?" Kyung typed in something to his phone as Zico put his gun back in the back of his jeans.

"I don't think she's going to be a problem anymore," Zico took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair one more time.

"How did Hanbin seem going in? He's one of our newer generals so I know you were nervous," he asked again, a wary eye on Zico.

"Fine. He can handle himself," Zico looked over at Mino. "Do we have some of the newer recruits?"

"Don Woo," a voice called out before Mino could answer, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Nothing at all," Zico turned around to see Hyolyn sauntering towards him, her long hair curled perfectly over her shoulder. Zico frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as she stepped closer.

"My men have told me that you're working on a new outpost for some more business," she steps closer to him, "but I think it's too close to my side of town."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zico watched as Mino and Kyung let their hands rest naturally on their guns, ready to take aim of necessary. "And I don't like you coming into my home uninvited."

"Jaebum's Diner is two hundred feet from the border. And I heard you were visiting somebody on my side of town as well," she stepped closer, her heels loud on the concrete floor.

"Business," he shrugged.

"Jiho," Kyung warned. 

Zico raised an eyebrow as he stepped closer to Hyolyn, her small frame hindering her, "Are you threatened?"

"No," she tried to bite back.

"We're at peace, Don Kim," he laughed bitterly, "You have nothing to be worried about."

"If you steal away any of my business Zico, that treaty isn't in effect anymore," she pressed a hand on her hip and drummed her fingers lightly, "Just count this as a warning. Business."

"I'll keep that in mind," he stepped away and Mino and Kyung relaxed. Hyolyn crossed her arms and looked the three of them over.

"You know, she's kind of cute. And she does live on my side of town. I might take her on as a pet," Hyolyn taunted. 

"I doubt Jaebum would let you," Zico laughed over his shoulder, "Plus she's part of the family now. Good luck."

-

It wasn't even through the first morning rush when I noticed how quick Hanbin was catching on. His wide smile was a small change in the small diner and the regulars were already catching on quickly to his sense of humor, cracking egg puns (now he's got me doing it) left and right.

By the time lunch ended and we would have an hour or two lull before a small dinner rush of a couples on dates who made tonight their date night, I had already set him down to show him what all needed to be cleaned and prepped. He was nodding softly and leaned back into his chair as I brought out our lunch.

"I'm not sure what you like, so I just went with a burger and fries," I shrugged. His eyes went wide at the size of the burger.

"What the fuck is this?" he laughed. 

"It's actually one of our smaller burgers too," I brought over a couple bottles of ketchup and mustard to him as well. 

"Thanks," he took the top bun off and started adding mustard to it. I grabbed my lunch of our beer battered fish and fries and sat across from him. I started working on the truck order for the week as we ate silently. 

"Shit," Hanbin muttered as his phone started going off. "Business."

"Do what you need to," I nodded.

"Burger was really good. Thank you," he shoved in the last bite and headed to the back door without another word. I waited for a few seconds before curiosity got the best of me, warranting for me to walk to the back area. He had left the back door slightly open in a hurry so I pressed myself against the wall to look out at the back loading area. He was talking to somebody animatedly before he opened our usual extra storage area. Instead of being full of our extra napkins, plates, and other stuff that doesn't really need to be monitored all the time, it was full of guns. A lot of them. On top of just regular guns, there were heavier weapons that looked too complicated for me to figure out.

"I knew you'd be interested," I heard a laugh by my ear.

"Shit," I covered my mouth as Hanbin whipped around to where we were standing. Zico laughed harder as he closed the door and moved my hand away from my mouth. He was so close to my face as he smirked knowingly.

"Why are you like this?" I scoffed, starting to move away from him. He slammed a hand against the wall by my head, blocking my way.

"You don't get to decide when you're interested or not. Either you're in this, or you're not," Zico's face grew serious as I gulped audibly.

"I won't meddle anymore," I snapped as I ducked under his arm to walk away. He followed me into the dining room and grabbed my wrist to turn me around.

"It's not that simple," Zico pulled my arm up so I couldn't twist it away. "Either you don't talk about it, at all, and play dumb, or you could know about it, help out, and make things a lot simpler."

"You act like I don't have a choice in this," I tried to pull my wrist away again and he held on tighter.

"You don't," he stepped closer to where we were only inches apart.

"Am I interrupting something?" Hanbin slammed a large envelope on the counter and Zico and I jumped apart. 

"Just-" I started to snap.

"Business," Zico looked over at Hanbin and he nodded back, focusing on the envelope. "Payment?"

"Yep," Hanbin slid it closer and Zico grabbed it tenderly. "Pretty happy with the new arrangement. Except for the fact that it's too close to Hyolyn."

"Nobody likes that," Zico frowned, "Good job nonetheless. I'll let you guys get to it."

"Wait," I huffed, "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Me?" Zico turned around, a shocked expression momentarily fading across his face.

I ignored him and headed toward the office. He followed as I shut the door behind me.

"What?" he snapped, the envelope tucked under his arm.

"Are you seriously saying that I'm stuck here? Helping you guys?" I sat in the chair and crossed my arms.

"You can leave. But if you want to work at this diner, it'll always be connected to what we do. I can't have you working for Jaebum and act like you don't know," Zico leaned against the door and watched me as I turned around to look at the cameras.

"So it's either I quit and stay innocent or I stay and help?" I looked over my choices. Zico stayed silent as I breathed out a deep sigh, "I really don't have a choice then."

"I knew you would feel the same way," Zico almost sounded sad rather than smug, "I don't like bringing in people who should be innocent in these matters but you're too close to Jaebum. He's already on the books and they're open to you too."

"See I don't even know what that means," I groaned, pinching my forehead.

"Basically, Jaebum is part of the family and you could be too. I know it's not ideal and it's not safe but whenever you want to leave, I can help you," Zico looked sincere as I turned around, "As long as you don't fuck me over."

I chewed on my bottom lip and looked at the floor for a moment before looking at Zico, "Okay."

"Okay?" he looked almost hopeful.

"I'll help, but when I want to leave, I can. No ceremonies or weird oath blood pacts or anything like that," I scrunched my face up and Zico laughed at me, "What?"

"You watch too many mob movies!" he wiped an imaginary tear away. "Don't worry. You'll just be an associate, not an official family member. And there's no ceremonies for that."

"Good," I mumbled and turned towards the computer to open our sales report.

"As long as you keep your mouth shut and you don't screw anything up, you'll be okay. And protected," he let a hand drift to where I assumed his gun would be kept. "Oh one more thing."

"What?" I turned away from the computer to look at him. His face was scrunched like he was deep in thought and his hand was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Be careful around your apartment. The other Don owns that part and she's kind of ruthless if something pisses her off. Now that she knows Jaebum's kind of back, she'll be watching this place. Therefore, that includes you," he explained slowly, "We're in a treaty now but if I steal any business from her, she could hit the mattress-well, shit, um-start a war with us."

"And you think she would hurt me at my place?" I raised an eyebrow in misbelief.

"If it was to hurt Jaebum, then yeah," Zico laughed bitterly, "They have history. But that's for another day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of imagining this as a different version of Chicago almost. Just imagine a giant city that looks normal but really has a different undertone to it. There isn't a name to it (yet. I might give it one) and it's not based in Korea. Everybody is actually speaking English for this. If that helps at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Zico left after that and Hanbin and I got ready for our dinner rush in silence. I was cleaning the grill when he walked into the back, a sharp frown etched into his face.

"What?" I asked, grabbing the cleaner from the small cleaning closet by the sink. 

"You really hate this?" he leaned against the door frame.

"It's just not something I'm used to," I shook my head. "Or something I ever thought I would have to deal with."

"I get that," he sighed, "Let me tell you how I got sucked into this."

"I already heard Jaebum's story. I don't want to imagine anybody else killing people," I scoffed.

"Just listen to me," he ran a hand through his hair and I looked over at him curiously. "When I graduated two years ago, I thought I was going to go to college and get an education and get out of here. What most people think is going to happen to them, I know, but I had a chance. I was going to get a full ride into this college in New Hampshire and it was two months after graduating when my best friend got sucked into the family. He really didn't have a chance and he owed money and it was a mess. So he turned to me to help him out. Neither of us were really thinking about what it could do to me when I helped him though."

"What did you guys have to do?" I asked, completely forgetting about the grill.

"We had to hide this body. Bobby wasn't really okay with it but if he didn't hide it, they were gonna dig him right beside this guy," Hanbin frowned, "So I helped him. And Don Kwon-the Don before Zico-told me that I knew too much and it was either be killed or join. Just like Bobby. So I did what any sane person would do."

"You joined just like that?" I scoffed, going back to the grill.

"No I cried and begged him to let me go home and to college and to have a normal life," Hanbin smirked. I laughed, not expecting that response. "But regardless after that it wasn't much longer until I was sucked in. If it wasn't for Zico, I would've fought my way out but he actually made it bearable."

"How so?" I poured fresh water over the grill letting the water run over the heat, steam rising in the small kitchen.

"He made me feel like I was still a human being. Just because I was stuck, didn't mean I was stupid or anything," Hanbin smiled, "I could trust him."

"Can you still?" I kept my eyes on the grill, scrubbing at nothing in particular, scared of how Hanbin would answer.

"Wholeheartedly," he sighed, "I'd probably be doing some boring dead end job without him."

"But you'd be safe," I pointed out, wiping the scraper over the grill one last time. 

"Is that really life though?" Hanbin came to stand next to me now, looking over the grill as I straightened up to turn up the heat slightly.

"If you're happy, yes." 

"I disagree."

-

My conversation with Hanbin played over and over in my head as I cooked.

Flip that burger.

_Probably be doing some boring dead end job without him._

Fry some more onion rings.

_He made me feel like a human being._

Grab a T-Bone and throw it on the grill. Medium Rare.

_Either be killed or join._

I couldn't get any of it out of my mind. His whole demeanor shook me. How could somebody who had so much to live for turn to something so... so... 

I didn't have a word for it. Something about this family of "thugs" seemed fitting and right. Like they were all supposed to be together. In the end, despite anything that was supposed to happen in their lives, they were family now. Hanbin seemed happy doing what he does.

So why did Jaebum want out so bad? Was it the way he got in? I'd have to ask him later.

"It's almost 10," Hanbin called through the window and I shook my head, pulling myself out of the deep thoughts that swam around my head. "We closing soon?"

"Yeah. Just make sure Darla gets these," I threw up two slices of cake and watched Hanbin raise an eyebrow. "The women and her service dog over there."

"Aren't dogs not allowed to eat chocolate?" Hanbin glanced over to her.

"Raggy is fine," I waved him off and he brought the cake over with a bow. Darla thanked him and threw a smile towards me. Hanbin walked into the back after turning the sign to closed, his whole demeanor showing how tired he was. He groaned as I threw him a box of fries that had to be portioned.

"Here is the fun part," I smiled, "Prep for tomorrow."

"This is your definition of fun?" he scoffed while raising an eyebrow. "Sure."

"I mean I have other ideas of fun but this is pretty good too," I smirked, "Seeing you work hard while I do the easy stuff is great."

"Why are you so rude to me?" Hanbin pouted and I could feel my skin grow clammy. Jaebum wasn't wrong by the fact that I was more than attracted to him. He was attractive in a way that was interesting. His mannerisms and body movements were so sophisticated and confident it was intoxicating. I could feel my eyes leading down to his lips, full pout showing off how full they were. 

"I don't really know," I mumbled as the teasing words I had ready for him faded off my tongue. The air grew thick as a silence faded over the restaurant and I waited for him to move. Suddenly I could feel how close we were to each other before I finally breathed out. He blinked slowly and I could count each eyelash as it fell on his cheek. Just as I looked back down to his lips, a ding of the bell jumped us apart and I swallowed as I turned around.

"Jay," Hanbin smiled, the mood shifting drastically.

"Hey guys," Jaebum greeted, "Darla."

Darla looked up from her cake to greet Jaebum and I swallowed thickly. I had forgotten she was even here. My palms were already sweaty and I dried them on the towel wrapped around my apron. He walked into the back where Hanbin and I were and looked us over.

"You aren't dead yet," Jaebum grinned at Hanbin, "Has she been hard on you?"

"Extremely," Hanbin laughed awkwardly as Jaebum walked over to the grill.

"Cleaned it yet?" he looked it over.

"Lunch clean was done. I was about to start the dinner clean," my throat felt dry and closed up.

"Why is it so awkward right now? Did you guys just fight or something? Hanbin you don't have to listen to her when she gets snappy," Jaebum grinned at me.

"No," we answered at the same time. 

Jaebum looked from Hanbin to me, "Okay."

"Just been busy today," I shrugged turning back to the grill to start cleaning it. 

"Hanbin can I see you in the office for a minute?" Jaebum sighed, stepping out of the kitchen. Hanbin followed with a shrug and I breathed out heavily. I couldn't tell what made things so awkward. Was I the only one who could really feel something in that moment?

Truth be told, relationships were hard to come by for me. I worked too much and when I wasn't working or sleeping, I was curled up inside my small loft, ready to enjoy the solidarity. I didn't really have many friends other than Jaebum. I had moved here from a small town where everybody knew each other and it wasn't really needed to make friends. But once you get to the big city, everything kind of changed. Nobody really cared about you or your life or being your friend.

I guess that's why I cared so much about Jaebum. After I moved here, his diner was the first place I went. I had originally gone in for something to eat but as soon as I saw the help wanted sign, I applied. I didn't want to be stuck working for the same company I had been working for before. He opened his arms to me and made me feel like I wasn't alone. 

As far as flirting or dating went, I wasn't really interested in much. This city wasn't known for being good at finding "the one" but rather somebody for the night, which wasn't my style at all. I viewed Jaebum as an older brother so there was never any attraction towards him there. Nobody really came in that was young enough to be in my dating range and even if somebody did, I was never interested.

But there was something about Hanbin that seemed like you would want more. He had a type of charm that lured you in and instead of there being something evil or nasty at his core, it was his raw being that seemed ready to be discovered.

I could feel myself falling for somebody I know I shouldn't.

-

By the time I got all of the grill clean and I started on the prep for tomorrow, Jaebum and Hanbin finally came out of the office, laughing at each other like they were best friends.

"Ah man Jay it's so good to see you again," Hanbin smiled, slapping a hand on his shoulder, "We miss you."

"You know why I left though," Jaebum swallowed, "and for that reason, I can't go back."

"Do you miss it?" Hanbin crossed his arms and leaned against the counter where I was slicing tomatoes.

"Sometimes. But I'm happy here. Audrey and I have a good thing going," Jaebum grinned at me, "Speaking of which, I'll help with prep for now since tomorrow's my shift. You can head home Hanbin."

"You sure?" Hanbin looked from me back to Jaebum.

"You cool with that?" Jaebum asked me, raising an eyebrow. I nodded and he looked back to the younger, "See you tomorrow at 5?"

"See ya," Hanbin smiled, sprinting back to the office to grab his jacket before heading out the door. 

"What time did Darla leave?" Jaebum asked me, his smile infectious as he washed his hands behind me.

"I think twenty minutes ago," I shrugged, pushing the last of the tomatoes into their container. 

"You lock the door yet?" Jaebum asked.

"Yeah," I nodded quietly.

"Okay spill. Something's on your mind," Jaebum sighed as he grabbed a few onions from the cabinet by the kitchen.

"Nothing. Just a weird day. Not really used to Zico yet and Hanbin doesn't really seem like the mob," I shrugged, "None of you do but I guess better be somebody they don't expect than somebody they would."

"Yeah," Jaebum frowned, "That was kind of my first thought."

"Why did you want to leave? If you were comfortable and you enjoyed it, then why leave?" I asked suddenly. Jaebum grimaced as he started to peel off the onion skins.

"It's kind of hard to talk about it," he frowned. "But I will tell you one day. I promise."

"What have you gone through?" I swallowed thickly and bit the inside of my cheek to avoid thinking about any of it.

"A lot Audrey," he breathed out, "A whole fucking lot."


	5. Chapter 5

I had finally crawled into bed after a long shower and quick dinner around midnight. I was waiting for my day off all this week and everything that's happened these past few days just increased my need for it. The tv was playing softly in the background and was the only sound in the whole loft. I nearly jumped when my phone's ringtone blared loudly next to me.

"Hello?" I answered grumpily.

"Are you going to sleep right now?" I heard a familiar voice on the other end laugh.

"Who is this?" I sat up, looking around.

"Get up. I have to show you something," the voice said again. 

"And go where? Who is this?" I repeated.

"Just head outside your building. I'll be waiting for you," they hung up before I cold ask them again. I groaned, debating to lay down again and just go to sleep but decided against it. My curious side got the best of me and I changed into something a bit more appropriate than my pajamas. I debated once more between going back to bed when I got a text form the same number who called me.

**_From: Unknown_ **   
_Hurry up its cold out here_

I groaned and headed towards my elevator, clicking it open and wishing I never moved here. Of course as soon as I got downstairs, Zico was waiting outside my apartment door.

"Seriously?" I muttered under my breath. 

"You look tired," Zico looked me up and down and I scoffed, nearly turning back to go inside. He laughed, grabbing my wrist to lead me back to wherever we were going. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I asked as he led me down the street, his hand still wrapped around my wrist. He was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a white tshirt this time with a camouflage jacket loosely around him. I shook my head as he ignored me, pulling me down a busy road. We walked for a good ten minutes before he stopped in front of a small street.

"This is the border," he looked up at the street signs. La Salle and Huron.

"Border?" I raised an eyebrow.

"There's two mobs in this city," Zico explained as he finally let go of my wrist. I could still feel the warmth from his skin resonate on mine. "Mine and Don Kim Hyolyn's. This is the border between our two territories."

"Divide right here all the way through?" I titled my head to the side in confusion.

"Exactly," Zico started to walk down the street again. I followed, a little intrigued. He didn't speak until we got to a small Vietnamese noodles restaurant. He opened the door for me, gesturing for me to go inside. Once inside, he automatically sat at a table facing the whole restaurant and waited for me to join him. I swallowed as I slid in the seat across from him. He waved somebody over and they brought out waters. He spoke to them softly and they scurried away quickly.

"I ordered for you. Sorry," he looked down at his hands. 

"I wouldn't know what to get here if you didn't," I shrugged.

"About five years ago, both of the mobs had different Don's. Before me there was Don Kwon. He was a bit ruthless and a little crazy. And before Hyolyn there was Don Nam. They both hated each other, and they ended up nearly killing each other multiple times over territories and petty things."

One of the waiters brought up a tray filled with soups, salads, and an appetizer. As they laid things out, Zico described each one and what was in it. I started eating as I waited for him to continue.

"Anyways, so Don Kwon finally got the best of Don Nam and it ended in a bad bloody fight. After that Don Kwon retired and left for wherever he is now. I was his top general, so I took his place. A lot of people were kind of angry about that because I'm so young, but I really don't give a shit," he shrugged.

"How old are you?" I took a sip of the soup.

"23," he shoved a bite of his salad in his mouth.

"Oh," I sat back a little shocked, "I thought you were older."

"Most people do," he smirked, "Anyways so Hyolyn took over for Don Nam and we both made a treaty to clean up the territories and make it pretty even as long as business was good and we didn't cross over."

"And that was on La Salle and Huron?" I asked. 

"La Salle technically," he nodded, "It runs straight through the city perfectly in half." 

"So you made the truce and everything is chill for now?" I pushed a pair of chopsticks through the salad halfheartedly.

"Essentially, but...," Zico trailed off and I raised an eyebrow to tell him to keep talking, "She thinks Jaebum's Diner is too close to the line."

"But it's still in your territory," I scoffed.

"And you live on her side of town," he finished.

"Oh," I set the plate of salad down on the table, "What does that mean?"

"It means," Zico started as the waiter brought out two plates of fried rice with huge shrimp decorated on top, "It means that she feels as if you are trespassing. I told her you were just an associate and practically innocent but she's kind of a bitch."

"Am I in danger?" I swallowed softly.

"No," Zico shook his head, "I'm a man of principle and promise. I protect those who work for me and I keep my promises. I promise that you'll be safe."

"That's a hefty promise," I picked up my chopsticks to eat some of the fried rice.

"One I intend to keep," Zico took a bite of his food and looked up at me as he chewed, "There's something about you that makes me want to protect you."

"What does that mean?" I laughed.

Zico laughed with me before looking down at his plate, "Just know you're always safe."

"Noted," I nodded as we continued to eat. 

It was silent for some time before he finally looked up from his food. His eyes were watching me with a certain kind of adoration, "Why do you care about Jaebum so much?"

"He's like my brother. He showed me who I was and that it was okay to be alone sometimes," I bit my lip softly, "He just was by my side when I never asked him to be."

Zico nodded before stretching his arms out. I watched as he yawned softly and I chuckled, "Tired?"

"Hey it's one in the morning," he laughed, "That's a perfectly acceptable time to go to bed!"

"But midnight isn't?" I stared at him in shock, a teasing undertone lacing itself into the question.

"Okay look. I had to get you out of bed somehow!" Zico huffed with a smile on his face.

"Funny. Most men try to get women _into_ bed," I teased, taking a sip of water.

"You know I'm the exact opposite of most men," Zico smirked as he continued to eat.

"That you are," I muttered more to myself than anybody else. I put down my chopsticks and sighed softly. His phone started to go off, a loud ringtone filling the space of the restaurant.

"Hello?" he answered, mouthing 'sorry' to me. "I can be there in thirty. Business."

He hung up after that and focused on the food in front of him. I watched him with curiosity, "Got somewhere to be?"

"Business. That's all," he shook his head. "Everybody waits for me so I always take my time."

"Must be nice," I looked over the small restaurant with a faint frown drawn across my face.

"Wanna come?" he asked suddenly, his eyes gauging my reaction. 

"What are you going to be doing?" I hated how curious I was. To be honest, it was my worst flaw. It got me into trouble back home and it got me deeper and deeper into trouble here.

"Come with me and find out," he smirked. I scoffed and pushed my plate away.

"Ready when you are."

Zico nodded and waved the waiter over. He shoved a couple of large bills his way and smiled. We stood before the waiter could understand what was going on and headed toward the door.

As soon as we left the restaurant, there was a car waiting about a block down the street. He opened the door and offered for me to climb in. It was either this, or go home and sleep. 

_"Is that really living though?"_

Hanbin was right. I was living life with a fear of what's right and what's wrong for too long. I needed a breath of fresh air and a longing for the other side of life I never experienced before.

So I climbed in.

-

The scariest part of literally all of this was the unknown I wasn't expecting. Usually when you think of mobs, you think armed guys going in to rob a bank or people getting "whacked". I wasn't expecting the technicalities of how to run a family of professional criminals. Somehow, Zico made it look effortless. He never seemed phased as he spit out command after command and making decisions left and right. He fit the role of a leader.

When we climbed into the car, a shorter man with short brown hair eyed me suspiciously before looking over to Zico. 

"Audrey. Jaebum's second," he explained. I sat quietly as he looked between me and Zico with a sigh.

"Why is she with you?" he dragged out the sentence slowly. "That's not safe. Especially after Hyolyn's threat."

"She's safer with me than at home alone," Zico shrugged, turning to me as Kyung pulled out his phone to answer it, "This is Kyung. He's our consigliere. Basically that's the guy who advises us on all of our decisions. If he doesn't think it's wise, we consider all other options."

"What if he's playing you this whole time?" I leaned closer to Zico. 

"What, like a double crosser?" Zico raised an eyebrow, "Could be. But I've known Kyung since we were 10. He's literally family at this point."

"Doesn't stop him," I leaned back into my seat.

"True, but I trust him. He's the reason I'm Don now. I used to be young and stupid," Zico looked out the window, "Thanks to him, I kind of grew the fuck up."

"Used to be? Okay," I rolled my eyes as Zico playfully hit me on the arm.

"Hush," he smiled.

Kyung hung up his phone and looked over to me, "How long have you known Jaebum?"

"A year," I answered, feeling an onslaught of questions about to come my way.

"And you didn't know anything about his affiliations until recently?" he squinted his eyes at me.

"Yep," I nodded, "Not until Zico came and talked to him a couple of days ago."

"And do you know who Hyolyn is?" Kyung breathed out a sigh as I shook my head no.

"Just what Zico told me tonight," I crossed my arms.

"And you know we do illegal things, right? Like kill people on a whim and torture and robbery and-" Kyung started.

"Don't scare her off," Zico frowned, "I just got her to cooperate."

"I know all of this yes," I nodded, "and I'm not going to tell anybody. I know I'm dead meat if I even thought of it."

"I don't trust you," Kyung scoffed.

"You don't trust anybody who isn't officially in the family," Zico heaved a sigh. The car came to a stop and he rolled down the window to say something to the men waiting. I watched as they nodded, looked over to me, and pressed a button. In front of the car, I heard something like a loud metal gate open and screech along a sidewalk. As we drove away, Zico rolled up the window again and rolled his head around to crack his neck. Kyung slid closer to the door to open it as soon as the car came to a stop. He let me out first and followed shortly after to go to the other side to open the door for Zico. 

In front of me was the most beautiful house I had ever seen. It looked three stories from first glance and seemed to stretch for almost a mile either way. The outside was smooth and sleek, built with white marble. The structure was shaped like a giant rectangle with no balconies or carvings. It was just a giant sleek, building with giant windows. 

"Welcome to the house," Zico whispered in my ear, causing me to jump. He laughed softly and I rolled my eyes as he walked ahead of me.

"That's why I don't trust you," Kyung sauntered up beside me, a smug grin on his face, "You don't even know how different he is in front of you."

"I don't know why," I shook my head, "Plus that's not my fault. I don't do anything to him. Blaming me is kind of childish."

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes, "Just try not to get attached to him."

"He's the one dragging me out of bed at midnight to explain boundaries in the city," I turned to him, ready to defend myself, "He's the one who keeps coming into my life. If anything, he's the one getting attached."

Kyung laughed, "Zico doesn't get attached."

"I'm sure," I rolled my eyes and turned to follow Zico into the house. He was waiting by the door and watched as I walked up with a slightly pissed off expression. 

"What did he say to you?" he asked with a bemused look.

"Bullshit," I shook my head, "about how I shouldn't get attached."

"Oh, don't fall in love with me kind of shit," Zico turned the knob as he unlocked it, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Basically," I nodded. He opened the door and everything inside was just as sleek as the outside. Most of the furniture looked modern and was white, matching the white exterior of the house. Zico started walking through the living room and straight into another room as I took everything in. I slowly followed him, completely amazed by everything I was looking at. This was not my idea of a "mob house" or whatever they were called.

"You coming?" Zico stuck his head out the door of the room and I nodded, reminding myself to ask for a tour later. He led me into the room, a well lit area with a long table in middle. Mostly everybody was already there, sitting and waiting for their leader. Near the front of table, Hanbin was lounging lazily with his feet on the table. Zico walked by and knocked them down and gave a stern glare at him while Hanbin held his hands up in surrender. He finally turned towards the door where I was standing and his face lit up instantly.

"Come over here," he gestured towards an empty chair next to him. I obliged, not knowing anybody else and sat quietly next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Zico invited me," I looked over to him as he sat a couple of chairs down from us at the head of the table.

"Interesting," Hanbin swallowed before looking back to me, "This is the generals meetings. We basically meet at different times of the night to discuss business and everything else."

"What if there's nothing to talk about?" I look around at the different guys around me. Most of them were unusually attractive, almost celebrity status attractive.

"Trust me there's always business happening," Hanbin scoffed, leaning back, "If there's not, then we just deposit the cut of the money we make that's not ours and go home."

"Why are you all so attractive?" I looked around a bit more.

"You find me attractive?" Hanbin raised a suggestive eyebrow and I rolled my eyes.

"Everybody except you of course. Thought that was a given," I smirked.

"You wound me," he clutched his heart in mock pain.

"Anyways," I laughed, ushering him to answer my question.

"Zico thinks it's less suspicious if all of our generals look normal or even attractive. Nobody suspects the normal looking ones," Hanbin explained as Zico stood up to start the meeting. Hanbin leaned in closer to me to whisper softly in my ear, "And you'd fit right in."

I swallowed thickly as I focused on Zico who was getting everybody's attention. He looked from me to Hanbin with a small scowl and I looked back at Hanbin who was smiling at me in such a cocky way. 

What had I gotten myself into?

"So first things first, thanks to Jaebum, our weapons front will go up drastically in sales. Also give it up to Hanbin for a successful first deal today," he waited as everybody congratulated him, "Also, this is Jaebum's second. So if he's unreachable, go to her."

I watched as every eye turned to me suddenly, "Hello."

"Audrey will be attending meetings every now and then when Jaebum can't so I expect total respect for her," Zico looked down to a stack of notes in front of him. "We should have a reported $200,000 today so if anything is short I will find out."

"Everything's accounted for," the same guy from the diner when I first met Zico spoke up. He pushed his thick glasses further up his nose and smiled, "I collected before you got here."

"Thank you Taeil," Zico breathed out, "Mino, do we have anybody reporting to us about Hyolyn?"

"Nothing yet. All of our UC's are pretty quiet right now, but last we heard she wasn't happy about Jay's place," a short haired man straight to Zico's right frowned down at his phone. He had golden skin that made his dark hair beautiful and a confident air about him.

"That's Mino," Hanbin leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "He's Zico's right hand man."

"I thought that was Kyung," I frowned, confusion etched into my face.

"Kyung is close to Zico but he's just the consigliere. He's nowhere as valuable to Zico as Mino is," Hanbin shruggrd

"She'll have to deal with it," Zico groaned, interrupting our conversation, "Speaking of which, if anybody hears anything on the street about her, then report it to me _immediately_. I want to be ahead of anything she tries to do."

"Is the treaty still in effect?" a guy at the end of the table asked.

"Yes," Zico looked pissed off as he lifted his head to the guy, "Of course it is Bobby."

"Just asking," Bobby muttered. Hanbin shot a look to the guy and I remembered Hanbin mentioning Bobby when he told me his story. That was the guy who ruined his life.

"If she views it as broken, she could attack and I don't want anything to happen to you guys. I put you guys first and foremost as a family and if any of you betray my trust, I will not hesitate to retaliate," Zico grew serious for a moment before he looked back to his notes, "Also can I have donations for Daehyun? He's getting out of the hospital next week and we're gonna treat him to a welcome home present. Meeting adjourned guys."

"Seriously?" I turned to Hanbin with a bemused expression.

"Hey look Daehyun's coming back with one leg. He deserves a nice gift," Hanbin frowned before holding back a laugh, "This all sounds ridiculous doesn't it?"

"Just a bit," I giggled softly.

"Well this isn't like the movies. We're just a family who does a lot of illegal things," Hanbin swiveled in his chair and stood up, "Want me to drive you home?"

"Um," I looked to Zico and back to him, "Sure. Plus you have work tomorrow morning so you better get home."

"Yes boss," he winked, gesturing for me to follow him.

"I'm gonna say bye to Zico. I'll be right behind you," I stood and stretched my arms out.

"Okay," he smiled at me, his teeth peeking out softly. I walked over to Zico who was talking to Mino animatedly about something. As soon as I got closer, he turned towards me with a smile.

"Audrey this is Mino. Mino, Audrey," he introduced us. Mino stuck his hand out and I shook it firmly before looking back at Zico.

"Am I free to head home and sleep or are do you need to drag me somewhere else in the city at almost 2 am?" I teased. 

Zico threw his head back in laughter, "No you're good. Do you need a ride home?"

"Hanbin's getting me home. Thank you though," I turned to Mino who was watching us with a curious expression, "Nice meeting you."

Zico let a moment of anger flash through his eyes before he grabbed my wrist to turn me back around to face him, "You sure you're good?"

"I'm fine. Hanbin doesn't bite," I smirked teasingly, "Jealous?"

"Go home," he rolled his eyes and let go of my wrist.

"Yes sir," I mock saluted as I went to go find Hanbin.

-

"What was that about?" Mino raised an eyebrow at Zico. The older huffed and shook his head. "No, spill."

"It's nothing Mino. Jaebum just made me promise to look after her until things settle," Zico pulled his phone out, "He's got this brother complex over her."

"You personally?" Mino looked smug for a second.

"No but everybody else would try to sleep with her. Be real here. You guys are all horny motherfuckers," Zico tapped out a message to somebody before looking back up at Mino, "Including you."

"You got me there," Mino laughed, "But what about Hanbin?"

"I have no choice there," Zico frowned, "Kids great at what he does but I don't trust him around her."

"I don't trust her," Mino shook his head, "You sure she's good?"

"Yeah," Zico nodded, "Definitely. I trust Jaebum more than any of you. Sorry."

"I've always known that," Mino shrugged it off, "Just be careful."

"Careful of what? 120 pounds of innocence?" Zico snorted, as he shoved his phone in his pocket. "I'm so scared."

"That's not what I meant Jiho," Mino shook his head, "You'll get it eventually."


	6. Chapter 6

Hanbin's mode of transportation ended up being a motorcycle. A fucking flipping motorcycle. Not only did he greet me with a smile, a helmet, and a wink, but a fucking motorcycle.

"Why am I surprised?" I scoffed, grabbing the helmet.

"Safety first," he grinned as he straddled the bike effortlessly. The sight was something to remember. He was dressed in all black, a helmet pulling onto his head and a dark black bike roaring beneath him. Dear God.

I sighed out nervously and climbed onto the bike slowly, a little anxious on how I was going to get home safely. He laughed as I struggled to pull on the helmet but as soon as I was able to rest comfortably on the bike he revved it once. I squealed since I wasn't expecting it and as he laughed even harder, I slapped his arm and groaned.

"I'll just have Zico take me home," I almost climbed back off.

"No no no stay stay," he stopped laughing, "I'm gonna move the bike now. You can hold onto me if you need to."

"Okay," I grumbled. He slowly started to move and I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist.

He was in shape. Very in shape. I could feel every inch of his abs and muscles and I swallowed thickly as I held onto them tightly as he sped up and onto the street. We were silent as we drove down a long highway before he reached a stop sign. He slowed to a stop and turned to face me as best he could.

"Where do you live?" Hanbin asked before chuckling at how scared I looked. "Have you never done anything adventurous before?"

"Not really," I scoffed, "And 15th and Harvard."

"Oh," he blinked.

"You can take me to the border if you're scared of the other Don," I smirked.

"I'm not scared," he furrowed his eyebrows, "Zico just told us to never go over there."

"I'm sure he'd understand you taking me home," I shrugged. Hanbin sighed heavily before turning back to the road, sliding his visor back down, and started driving again. 

It was silent back into the city the whole way there and I swore the ride to the house was a lot faster than heading home. I kept myself tightly wound Hanbin's waist even after I got used to the motorcycle. I knew if I moved I would be able to feel every single inch of Hanbin's muscles. What I could feel was enough and I felt blush ride up my face every time I thought about him without a shirt on, defined muscles stretching softly every time he moved.

"Which one is yours?" he slowed down once he got to 15th.

"That one," I pointed to my building and waited until we were directly in front of it to brave getting off. He watched as I pulled my helmet off as he did the same and I tried to fix my hair quickly.

"You look great," he said sincerely. I gulped, the air leaving my lungs.

"You're not too bad yourself," I tried to recover, "Almost passable as a normal person."

Hanbin smirked as I handed him his helmet back, "Thanks."

"You okay?" I asked. 

"Tired. I have to get back to my place to deal with my soldiers. See you Saturday?" he stuffed the extra helmet into a storage compartment under the seat I was just in.

"Yeah. Saturday," I nodded slowly. 

"Good," he looked back at me. "Saturday. Goodnight Audrey."

"Goodnight Hanbin," I smiled. He winked at me, sliding his helmet back on before turning the bike back on. I watched as he drove off before turning back to my apartment building to head upstairs. The front of my building had a open concept where it led to six different elevators so it could lead to our different lofts. I sleepily made my way to mine, a hard day seeping into my muscles. By the time my elevator got to the ground floor, my phone was already ringing again.

"Zico I swear to god-" I started.

"Did you get inside safe?" Hanbin cut me off, an annoyed tint to his voice.

"What? Yes," I climbed into the elevator and watched the doors close, "Why?"

"Somebody was following us and ended up following me after I drove off," Hanbin spoke softly into the phone. "He doubled back so I wasn't sure if he was going after you or not."

"I'm inside and okay, I promise," I waited until the elevators opened and I stepped into the empty loft to answer him. 

"Good," he breathed out softly. "Goodnight Audrey."

"Night," I yawned, ready to end the day. He hung up and I threw my phone on the bed. After I changed back into my pajamas, I crawled into the abandoned bed and hoped I wouldn't have to do anything tomorrow that had to do with mobs and generals and god knows what else.

-

Luckily, it was well past noon when I woke up, guaranteeing this a "sleep-in day". I checked my phone to see thirteen missed calls from Jaebum and panicked a little until I saw his text about locking himself out of the office again. 

I leaned up to call him in a sleepy daze, "Seriously?"

"Can you please come unlock it?" he begged as soon as he picked up.

"Fine," I groaned as my stomach grumbled. "But I want a free lunch. I'm starving."

"You get that anyways," he laughed, "but sure whatever you want."

"On my way," I huffed before hanging up. I already knew I had stuff to do so I was going to have to get ready regardless but this made it seem more regrettable. I could've stayed in bed for an extra hour but now I was taking a shower and putting on makeup and just about everything else. Jaebum was going to have to wait for me.

By the time I finally got down there, he was a little angry with how long I took with my set of keys. I shook my head as he took them from me and headed straight to the back.

"He's been in a bad mood since he noticed his keys were in the office," Hanbin called from the kitchen.

"Does he have you cooking?" I smiled, crossing my arms.

"Yeah and apparently i'm already better than you," he smirked.

"Sure you are," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Whatever," Hanbin kept his state on me for a bit longer than normal. "You look good today."

"Thanks," I could feel my cheeks turning a slight red, "You look good covered in egg yolks."

"I heard it's the latest fashion trend," he threw back at me, a wide grin on his face.

"Well you are very fashionable," I bit my bottom lip softly.

"I know," he smirked, "Thanks for reminder."

"Stop flirting on my clock," Jaebum griped as he walked back from the office. He handed me my set of keys as he looked at me, "And you. I need you to be a bit more responsible now. There's a lot going on and I don't need quality to drop just because there's changes going on. No flirting either."

"Okay we weren't-" I started.

"That wasn't-" Hanbin looked up and gulped.

"Shut up and go out when you're not in my diner," Jaebum looked from me to Hanbin and back. "Jesus."

"I'll see you tomorrow," I nodded, blush crawling up my cheeks.

"Whose flirting with who?" I heard a familiar rough voice behind me. I turned to see Zico in a pair of skinny jeans and a large hoodie. He seemed small and soft in the oversized hoodie as he ran a hand through his messy black hair. I took a deep breath in and remembered who he was.

"These two lovebirds won't shut up," Jaebum groaned as he turned to head back into the office.

"Yeah sure," Hanbin rolled his eyes.

"We weren't flirting," I sat down on the counter stool and turned back towards the kitchen, "Were we?"

"No," he shook his head and focused back on the grill.

"Anyways, what are you doing here?" I looked back at Zico.

"Collecting today's payment and checking on progress," Zico sat next to me, a soft smile crossing his face. He looked tired, baggy eyes and puffy cheeks adorning his face. I breathed in at the sight of his tousled hair falling softly around his face.

"Oh," I nodded. "Sounds fun."

"Business, like usual," he shrugged, "What about you?"

"Jaebum locked himself out of his office so I had to bring him my copy of keys," I watched as Jaebum walked around to another table who had just walked in. The beginning of their lunch rush was coming in.

"Here Jiho," Hanbin handed over an envelope from the kitchen and Zico stood to stretch to grab it. I watched as a sliver of his stomach peaked out as he stretched and breathed in sharply. He was covered in tattoos on his stomach.

"Thanks man," Zico nodded, "You're doing good here. We've noticed."

"Thanks," Hanbin beamed, his whole face growing in happiness.

"I'll see you tonight. Dinner meeting today," Zico nodded at him. 

"What are you about to go do?" my curiosity speaking for me. 

"You wouldn't like it," Zico leaned on the counter.

"Oh," I frowned, remembering just who Zico was.

"I mean you can come watch but it won't be pretty," Zico looked down at his hands and sighed, "I don't think you're ready to see something like that."

"Definitely not," my voice sounded small in the diner.

"I'll see you later Audrey," Zico's smile seemed warm against the tone of the conversation.

"Bye," I nodded, leaning into the back of the stool. Zico watched me for a moment before looking to the door and lightly tapping a clenched fist on the countertop twice. He glanced towards the ceiling and headed towards the door in silence. As soon as I heard the door behind me close, Hanbin was already walking towards the front to talk to me.

"That's weird," he shook me from my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, my cheeks feeling slightly warm.

"He never comes out on collection calls. He's usually a more of a behind the scenes kind of guy," Hanbin ran a rag over the countertop and shrugged, "He's probably just nervous about it being close to the border."

"Oh," I sighed outwardly. "I'm gonna get going. I have to get some grocery shopping done before Whole Foods closes."

"Have fun," Hanbin nodded. "You want something to eat before you go? Taste my amazing cooking?"

"I'll see you tomorrow," I nodded and got up slowly, "Let Jaebum know I'll make a copy of the key when I'm out so this doesn't happen again."

"Okay, but you're missing out," Hanbin nodded, "Bye!"

I walked out and my first reaction was how crisp the afternoon felt against my skin. I pulled my jacket tighter against me and worked on heading towards Whole Foods.

-

By the time I had finished shopping and got a copy of the key for Jaebum, I was ready to lie down in my bed. The only thing I was more excited about was the fact that I had a long night of sleep ahead of me. The elevator ride up was long and tantalizing but when the doors finally opened I nearly cried at the familiarity of the place. I put the bags on the counter of my kitchen and started to unload them while rubbing my shoulder.

"Sore?" I heard Zico's voice from the couch. 

"Jesus!" I jumped, my heart clambering up into my throat, "Do you ever just wait until somebody gets home and then, I don't know, here's a novel idea, _knock?_ "

"What's the fun in that?" Zico smirked, "Jaebum can't make it to the dinner tonight. I'm gonna need you to come."

"Why can't he make it?" I huffed, "What if I had plans?"

"Audrey," Zico shook his head and I found myself getting irritated. 

"Before you start, this is a little unfair. I've agreed to help, I've been with you to random restaurants and to weird meetings at 1 am, and now I'm getting pressured into more. I've got to actually sit down and organize the rest of my week. I've got to rest. I'm not you guys. I can't-" I started to rant. As I talked, Zico stood from the couch and I watched as he came closer. By the time he got to where I was standing in the kitchen, I stopped talking, a little flustered.

"You can't what?" he whispered, close enough to where we could hear each other clearly.

"I can't keep doing this whiplash schedule," I frowned. "I can't keep up."

"Come to dinner. Meet everybody. Get ready to keep up. You won't get used to this if you don't try," he leaned back on the counter, placing one foot in between my legs so that his knee grazed my upper thigh lightly.

"You aren't being fair," I stood my ground and took a step back.

"I'm being more than fair," he pushed off the counter and cornered me against the fridge, his arms on either side of me. "I could've killed you. But Jaebum would've killed me."

We were silent as I opened my mouth to say something. No words came out and he pushed away. He raised an eyebrow at me but I focused on my breathing, "Wear something nice. Like a dress or something."

"I'm gonna go get ready," I groaned. "Give me ten minutes."


	7. Chapter 7

Zico was still in the kitchen when I got out of my bathroom, but all of my groceries were put away.

"You ready?" he looked me over in a simple black dress with a large pink necklace, an eyebrow cocked upwards.

"Yeah," I slid into my shoes and focused on getting all of this over with. "Thanks for putting my groceries away."

"No problem," he nodded as we headed towards the elevator. I grabbed my purse and my phone plugged in by the doors as he pressed the down button. It was silent as we waited for the doors to open and step in but as soon as they closed he looked over at me, "You look nice."

"Thank you," I nodded, "You do too." 

Zico was dressed in a pair of slacks and a white tshirt with a blazer over it. His hair was slightly slicked back and the strands that weren't down, looked pushed back around his forehead. He looked effortlessly beautiful, like something out of a magazine. Every piece of him seemed flawlessly put together.

"Thank you," he swallowed thickly and I watched his Adam's apple bobble in his throat. "I know you hate all of this but the more you cooperate the easier it all will be for you."

"It's not like I hate it," I chewed on my bottom lip, "I'm just... adjusting."

"Either way. Adjusting or hating, you'll do fine," Zico smiled warmly at me and for a moment I forgot he was an insane, cold-hearted killer mob leader. My heart skipped a beat and I could feel my face slowly heat up.

"How mushy," I teased to ease the tension.

"Oh shut up," he groaned, looking away. I breathed a sigh of relief as the elevator opened slowly. Mino was outside waiting for us in a similar look as Zico.

"Hey Audrey," he smiled. I nodded a hello and he watched as Zico stepped out behind me. "Ready?"

"Yep," Zico pulled out his phone and typed something into it. A minute later, a large black car pulled around the corner. Kyung got out of the front seat and tossed the keys to Mino who caught them effortlessly.

"Sit up front," Zico instructed me. I obliged, not really wanting to sit in the back with Zico and Kyung for an awkward interrogation again. I slid into the passenger seat and buckled in, waiting for us to get to the dinner quickly.

"You seem nervous," Mino started the car. I breathed out shakily, "Like really nervous."

"I'm just really new to this," I shrugged.

"Just remember we don't bite," Mino pulled onto the road and started heading out of town. "We shoot, torture, stab-"

I slapped Mino on the arm, "Thanks for the mental pictures."

"Jaebum's done it all his life and you're fine around him. Hanbin is a fucking maniac with torturing," Mino pointed out while rubbing his arm, "People around you have deep secrets all the time."

"What's yours?" I asked softly. Zico and Kyung were in deep conversation in the back seat as we stopped at a red light.

"I was born into this," Mino looked off into the traffic like he was deep in thought. "My dad was actually the Don before Don Kwon."

"Oh," I swallowed thickly, "So you don't know any different than this."

"Not really," Mino smirked, "I mean I went to school normal and I was raised normal. But when I turned 18, my dad told me everything and that's when I joined."

"Why didn't you become Don?" I asked. "Wouldn't you be in line?"

"Don Kwon was my dad's right hand man. When my dad was killed, he took over and I rose in ranks," Mino shifted in his seat, "But by the time Don Kwon was ready to go, I wasn't ready. So Zico took over."

"What about me?" Zico asked from the backseat.

"Nothing," Mino smiled at him through the rear view mirror.

"Whatever," Zico scoffed and returned back to his conversation with Kyung.

"Anyways, I'm his right hand man so when he's ready to step down, I'll take over," Mino shook his head.

"What does that mean? Like does Zico decide when to retire?" I leaned my head back.

"Essentially," Mino nodded, "But in the end if he isn't killed, he can retire once all is at peace. He can't leave in the middle of a war or when the family needs him."

"So exactly what is at peace?" I looked over at Mino.

"It's what we're technically in right now," Mino looked behind us to merge onto the highway, "But because of the tension lately it probably won't stay that way."

"Oh," I nodded. It was quiet for a moment and Mino started to pull off into the express lane. "What are you doing?"

"Heading towards the house," Mino raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Go on the highway. The express lane is packed at this time," I shook my head, "Everybody just got off work. If you want to get to Grand Prairie the fastest way, take the highway."

"I'm a good ten minutes ahead of rush hour traffic. The express lane is just fine," Mino rolled his eyes.

"You think you are but the business distract is on the outer exit of the express lane. By the time you get there you'll hit everybody leaving work there," I shook my head. Mino laughed and looked over at me with a shocked expression. "I know my rush hour traffic."

"I guess so," he pulled back into the highway and went around a couple of cars. "It'll still be pretty busy here."

"Then why did you go this way if you don't agree with me?" I scoffed.

Mino smirked, "To prove you wrong."

"Mino," a warning voice shot from the back and the whole car grew quiet. I looked back to see Zico glaring up towards his right hand man. I let the air quietly build with tension before looking back towards the road.

"How did you know we lived in Grand Prairie?" Mino asked after Zico and Kyung started their conversation again.

"When Hanbin gave me a ride last night, I recognized the area," I kept my voice low. I didn't want to upset Zico again.

"Oh," he nodded. The rest of the ride was silent aside from the conversation in the back and I even tuned that out. As soon as the highway thinned out, I leaned my head on the glass window and slowly started to fall asleep.

_Pouty lips dragged against my leg, leaving soft kisses all the way up them. I could feel the eyes around me watching me disapprovingly but for some reason, wherever I was, I didn't care._

_"Are you okay?" the deep voice I was so accustomed to was asking me._

_"Peachy keen," I nodded._

_"I'm so glad you're safe," the same voice was by my mouth and I could feel his breath against my lips._

_"I'm just glad it's you," I breathed out awkwardly._

_"It's always going to be me," Zico's face grew from the darkness around me and a deep smirk resonated across his lips. He pulled a knife along my leg in the same trail he had just kissed. I could feel the blood fall from my legs and I shook because of the cold blade against my stomach._

_"What are you doing?" I asked slowly._

_"Shh," Zico pressed the blade flat against my stomach and pressed his lips against my neck._

_"Please," I started to feel tears on my face._

_"It'll be quick I promise," he breathed against my skin. The next thing I knew the knife was by my throat, pressing straight into the middle of it. My throat began to constrict around the knife and I could feel the breath leave my system before a small trail of blood choked itself out of my mouth and onto Zico's face. He laughed as the blood coming from my mouth spewed out at him, twisting and turning the knife until I stopped moving underneath him. He pulled out the knife and started to wipe the blood from his face, smearing it as he went. He took the knife in his grip and lifted it to get momentum as he swung down and-_

"Wake up," Zico's voice was right by my ear and I opened my eyes lightly to the nicely lit house I remembered from the night before. "You have to wake up."

I shot up and shrieked away from Zico, my dream still fresh on my mind.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a worried look etched into his face.

"Peachy keen," I muttered as I composing myself.

"Come on," he gestured for me to follow him and I obliged slowly. We walked slowly towards the house, the silence almost comfortable as he stuffed his hands in his jeans pocket and I folded mine across my chest.

When we got inside, he led me into a giant dining room where everybody else was sitting around a long slender white table. There was a seat at the head of the table open for Zico and then one next to him that was across from Mino. 

"That's where Jaebum would usually sit but since you're his replacement, it's your seat," Zico explained. 

"Oh," I nodded. Looking over the entire table, everybody was watching us walk in, silent. I swallowed as I made my way down to the head of the table. 

"Alright," Zico started the dinner officially as he sat in his seat, "Our monthly dinner is going to start by introductions. We have a few new faces over the past couple of months and I want everybody to be comfortable."

There was a slight groan from everybody at the table, but they were cut off from Zico's finger in the air, a gesture to shut up. He pointed to Mino across from me to start.

"Song Mino," he coughed, "In charge of communications and basically everything Zico doesn't do."

There was a laugh from the few people around us before the next person (whom I recognized from the diner) spoke up, "I'm Taeil and this is Pyo. We're head of the drug trading operations and finances."

"Yeah and what great jobs you're doing," Hanbin grinned from beside him.

"Yah!" Taeil raised a hand mockingly to him, "You better respect your elders!"

"Yeah yeah," Hanbin laughed, "And I'm Kim Hanbin. Leader of weapons trading at Jaebum's Diner location."

A few other people introduced themselves and I found myself getting overwhelmed at the amount of names being thrown my way. Minhyuk, Yongguk, Wonsik, and Kunpimook were just a few to start. 

The few that caught my eye were Titus and Namjoon, Bobby, and Seungyoon. 

"We're Titus and Namjoon," the first female other than me at the table stood up and I perked an eyebrow at her. She was dressed in dark skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket. Her long curly hair cascaded beautifully around her face as she tugged a lip ring in between her teeth as she paused. "We head the brothel and club on Lancaster Street."

"Brothel?" I mouthed to Hanbin. He chuckled quietly and shook his head to tell me to be quiet. I looked at the man next to Titus and watched as he ran a hand over his black skinny jeans. He was dressed in all black and a pair of round dark sunglasses blocked me from seeing his eyes. His movements seemed slow and calculated as he grabbed a glass to drink slowly from it. 

"I'm Bobby," a loud voice interrupted my thoughts. Next to Namjoon was a lopsided, dog looking guy who I recognized from last nights meeting. He was grinning widely as he locked eyes with me. "I head all foreign communications with transports and exports."

"And being a pain in our asses," Hanbin interjected. Zico laughed loudly as Bobby's mouth dropped dramatically.

"Fuck you man," Bobby muttered, shifting awkwardly in his seat.

Kyung was next to him at the end of the table and I frowned as he introduced himself with a frown. A few more others introduced themselves. Taehyun, Jaehyo, Dokyun, Jiyong, and Seungri. 

Finally the person next to me introduced himself, "I'm Seungyoon. I'm in charge of training all new soldiers."

"Drill Sarge Seungyoon," Hanbin looked over at me and a few people laughed. 

"What was that?" Seungyoon raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing sir!" Hanbin saluted mockingly and Zico put a hand over his mouth to control his laughter.

"Yah why are you so disrespectful?" Seungyoon groaned, "I thought I trained you better than that."

"You did but then I got a taste of power," Hanbin smirked and I groaned in embarrassment.

"Shut up Hanbin," Zico laughed. Everybody's eyes landed on me after that and I swallowed thickly.

"Um I'm Audrey and I guess I help head Jaebum's diner," I shrugged.

"Without her, Jaebum would be dead," Hanbin interjected. 

"Why do you speak nicely of her but when it comes to your mentors you're an asshole?" Seungyoon gaped. "What a brat."

"Whatever," Hanbin shrugged, "Can we eat now?"

"Yeah you brat," Zico lifted two fingers and gestured them in a come in motion. A bunch of waiters filed in, carrying bowls of soup to set in front of us. As soon as they were sat down and everybody started eating and chatting, I pulled out my phone to text Jaebum.

**_To: Jaebum_ **   
**Thanks for the warning about dinner.**

I set my phone in my lap and took a few bites of the soup, letting the saltiness of the broth seep into my tongue. I set my spoon down and frowned, trying to figure out how to get through how bad the soup actually tastes. My phone vibrated and I looked down at my lap. 

**_From: Jaebum_ **   
_What dinner?_

**_To: Jaebum_ **   
**The one Zico said you couldn't make?**

**_From: Jaebum_ **   
_What are you talking about? I don't start to go back to meetings or dinners until tomorrow night._


	8. Chapter 8

I paled at the thought of Zico lying to me to get me here. What was the point of having me here if I was cooperating? Why need me to be introduced if Jaebum was here? I looked over to Zico and I could feel my stomach drop down to my knees. He was watching the table with watchful eyes before looking at me. My dream hit me full force and he waited for me to say something as I could feel the panic level rise in me.

"You okay?" he mouthed. I nodded yes and looked back down at my soup, willing myself to take a few bites. After a few moments of chatter, the soup was taken away and replaced with a large dinner plate. I noticed everybody but me had a huge helping of chicken on their plates.

"Jaebum told me you were vegetarian," Zico informed me as I looked around. Instead of chicken, I had a large helping of sautéed vegetables with white rice and a small salad on the side.

"Looks delicious," I smiled meekly at Zico. 

"You sure you okay?"he asked again and I nodded, willing myself to look over at him.

"Just tired," I lied.

**_From: Jaebum_ **  
_Are you okay? Do I need to come get you?_

**_To: Jaebum_ **  
**No i'm fine. just a little annoyed and freaked he lied to me.**

**_From: Jaebum_ **  
_I'll be there in 10._

I frowned, knowing Zico wasn't going to be happy but by the way everybody was talking animatedly, I had some time to enjoy the calm before the storm.

"You act like you just saw a ghost," Seungyoon commented next to me.

"No I'm just tired," I reassured him.

"I didn't catch your name again," Seungyoon smiled at me softly as he looked over at my plate of untouched food.

"Audrey," I grinned, trying to get over my nervousness. "And yours is Seungyoon right?"

"Right," he nodded, "I'm guessing you're not hungry?"

"Oh," I looked at the food and felt my stomach growled, "I am. I'm just distracted."

"You're interesting," Seungyoon rubbed his chin as he put down his own fork. "Do you always poke at your food and pretend to eat, or do you actually digest something every once and a while?"

"Observant," I smirked.

"You're nervous about something right?" he glanced from my lap to Zico. "It has something to do with him doesn't it?"

I swallowed and gave him a weak smile, "Maybe."

"He's trustworthy I promise," Seungyoon shook his head. "He practically saved all of us at this table now."

"I know. I've heard countless stories," I frowned, "But I'm still wary."

"It's the whole killing, torturing thing, huh?" Seungyoon took a bite of his food. 

"Yeah," I grimaced. If he lied to get me here tonight, why was I here?

"Don't worry," Seungyoon shook his head with a smug grin on his face, "By the time you're used to it, Jiho will be the least of your concern."

That was the problem though. I didn't want to get used to it. I didn't want to know anything about this lifestyle at all. As I stared at Zico even more, I wanted out more than ever. Why would he lie at a time like this? When he knew I was still struggling with coming to terms with all of this?

"Sir," a loud voice came from the door and a tall man in a tuxedo with light brown hair frowned, "You have a visitor."

Zico looked up in confusion as Jaebum walked in. The room fell silent as everybody looked at the former member of their family. I watched as Namjoon frowned and leaned to whisper something into Titus' ear.

"Jay," Zico greeted curtly, looking over briefly at me. 

"We need to talk," he frowned. Zico sighed heavily as he stood to go talk to Jaebum. They left as the room watched in a dead silence. My skin grew cold as I could only imagine their conversation.

-

Zico frowned as the door to his study shut behind Jaebum. They stared at one another in an awkward quiet before Zico broke out in a laugh.

"What?" Jaebum cracked a smile.

"She is more trouble than she's worth," Zico sighed, leaning against the desk.

"I'm concerned," Jaebun nodded as he sat in the chair in front of the desk. 

"I know i'm being brash with her," Zico groaned, "But after tonight I promise I'll slow down."

Jaebum was silent for a moment as he folded his arms and leaned back into the chair, "What are you planning to do?"

"Seungri has been feeding information to Dara," Zico frowned, "I'm probably going to kill two birds with one stone."

"Seungri?" Jaebum raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "What happened to loyalty?"

"I'm stopping this before it gets out of hand," Zico shook his head and grabbed the gun on his desk. He checked if it was loaded and set it back beside him. There was a quiet pause and the two of them stared in opposite directions, each in their own worlds.

"Be careful," Jaebum finally spoke. 

"Of her?" Zico snorted.

"Of how she makes you feel," Jaebum grimaced.

"She's only important because of you," Zico gritted his teeth, tired of hearing the same warning.

"No," Jaebum laughed bitterly, "You know that's not true. You always hide how you feel Jiho and granted, that's made you strong in the past, but you're already way too far in over your head. I don't care what you say or what you tell yourself."

"I don't-" Zico scoffed.

"Yes you do. Stop lying to yourself," Jaebum stood suddenly, "Because before you get to her she'll be gone. She's not one to get stuck on somebody for long."

Zico stayed silent for a moment before glancing at Jaebum directly, "She won't want anything to do with me after tonight. It doesn't matter. I have more important issues at hand than some girl."

"You know she's more than some girl," Jaebum swallowed thickly, "Good luck Jiho."

They locked eyes for a moment as Zico felt his skin grow clammy and warm. This wasn't something he allowed for himself. But ever since he met her, the spell she had over him drove him crazy. It took one minute for him to be infatuated with her, and only a couple days for him to realize it.

"I know you," Jaebum started to turn before he stopped in his tracks, "You're not the type to get worked up about all of this. See how you feel in a week. Then talk to me again."

With it, he left Zico all alone in his thoughts.


	9. Chapter 9

They had been gone for a long ten minutes before Jaebum came back out to talk to me. He was nervous, but not as much as I was.

"Look," he sighed as he crouched by my chair, "What is about to happen, you need to see. I wish you didn't, but this is important."

"What are you talking about?" I frowned, looking at him peculiarly. 

"Zico had you come here tonight to witness what's about to happen. It's gonna be tough to watch so I'll be outside. Whenever you're ready, I'll take you home," Jaebum stood before I can question him any further and I swallowed thickly. Zico came back in a few seconds later, biting on his thumbnail. The silence took over the room and Jaebum left without another word. The two made brief eye contact. Zico nodded to the table and they went back to their separate conversations. He slumped back into his chair, a frown pushed into his face. His eyes were glossed over and I could feel my heart racing.

Zico leaned towards me, his eyes forward towards the end of the table, "I'm sorry for lying to you but I knew you would say no if I asked you to come straight on."

"Are you sure about that?" I scoffed, letting a bit of my hair lay over my shoulder.

"Next time, I'll know better," Zico kept his breath steady, "But after tonight, you'll never want to be around me again."

I took a deep breath in, my mouth going dry as I really looked at Zico's deep frown. He looked pale, like sickness had taken over his entire being. His usually plump full lips had paled and chapped slightly and his eyes looked sunken into his skin. He swallowed and I watched his Adam's apple bob slowly. He seemed nervous as he stood, every movement calculated and thought out.

"S-somebody," he barely choked out as everybody slowed their conversations. He coughed to clear his throat, "Somebody here has taken my love and welcome for advantage."

My blood started to race under my skin and I could feel it rushing in my ears. What was he planning on doing?

"I don't tolerate double crossers. I don't tolerate people who want to hurt me when I put effort into keeping them comfortable," Zico continued. I looked at the table and everybody looked confused and hurt. Except for...

"Seungri," Zico walked around the table to the small man at the end. The man swallowed, his skin paling considerably as Zico put his hands on his shoulders. 

"Boss," Seungri's voice was shaky as he looked up at him, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sure you know," Zico laughed sharply, rubbing roughly on the other's shoulders, "Your correspondence with Dara. Hyolyn's favorite messenger. That's how she found out about where our newest addition lives."

My body grew cold as I realized he was talking about me. They knew my address. They knew where I slept, lived, and ate. They knew everything about me-because of him.

"You told them about our newest business endeavor and how Jay was somewhat back," Zico tightened his hold on Seungri's shoulders, "It's funny. Once we got Dara's phone from our last raid, we figured it out pretty quickly."

"Boss I can explain," Seungri rushed out, "She promised information on Hyolyn too."

"What a scam," Zico laughed, "I thought I taught you better than that."

"Zico," Seungri didn't relax until a minute of silence. Finally, he changed his whole demeanor. The scared shaky man grew malicious as he slumped slightly in Zico's touch and a smirk grew across his tanned face. The fleeting eyes turned sharp and evil, "When did you find out?"

"Just now," Zico laughed, "We didn't get Dara's phone. I just had a hunch. Thanks for telling me."

Seungri paled and the smirk fell from his face, "Wh-what?"

"Goodnight Seungri," Zico leaned down and kissed the top of his head tenderly. My eyes widened as I silently watched Zico pull out a gun and push it into the top of Seungri's head. A loud bang went off and blood splattered across the dining room table. 

Dead.

Gone.

Shot.

Zico.

Blood.

Gun.

Dead.

I let the breath fall from my mouth as I watched as a pool of blood gather around Seungri's head.

"Let that be a lesson for any of you who try to betray me," Zico wiped a few specks of blood from his face. I felt bile rise in my throat and before I could control myself I was rising, running out without thinking.

Jaebum wasn't lying when he said he'd be waiting. He followed me down the steps and further from the house. He held my hair back as I threw up into a few bushes. He pulled me into a hug after I wiped my mouth clean and started to cry.

"Why did I have to see that?" I cried into his chest.

"If you didn't, things wouldn't be serious for you," Jaebum clenched his jaw.

"They already were," I tried to lie to him, calming myself to talk to him.

"No they weren't. You know that," Jaebum sighed, wrapping me tighter in his arms. I swallowed thickly and tried to even my breathing. Every time I shut my eyes, I just saw the blood all over again, spraying across the table in an awkward fashion. Nobody else had seemed to flinch except for me.

"I want to go home," I whispered into his chest. Jaebum nodded and I could feel his heart beating harshly as he squeezed me just a bit tighter.

-

Jaebum got me home slowly and I climbed into the small apartment with a few breaths of nervousness. I couldn't figure out why I had been so nonchalant about everything but now that everything was serious for me, I didn't know how to feel. I was trapped. I had witnessed a murder and not even that was okay for me.

"Hey," Jaebum said behind me. I hadn't even noticed that he had followed me in. I blinked at him as I settled into the couch. "Do you want me to stay here tonight?"

"No," I shook my head, "I need to be alone for a while."

"Don't come in tomorrow. Take the day off again," Jaebum frowned.

"No it's okay. I'll be there-" I started.

"No. Don't come in," he looked around the loft, "You're gonna be okay I promise." 

"Okay," I responded meekly. He stood in silence before muttering a soft goodbye and leaving me in the dark apartment all alone.

-

I don't remember falling asleep or changing or curling into bed or anything after Jaebum left. I just know that when I woke up I wasn't at home. I was all alone in a dark, damp room with nothing but a tank top and shorts on.

"Hello?" I called out, panic rising in my voice. Nobody answered, leaving the room quiet. There was a small door by a corner of the room. I walked over to it, my movements slow and calculated. It felt like somebody had drugged me and I could feel every limb try to move against what was a mental wall. I raised my fist weakly and slammed it hard on the door. "Is anybody out there?"

Silence met me again before another wave of sleepiness took over me. The only thing I saw was black after that.

-

Jiho paced the floor, waiting for Jaebum to come back from dropping off Audrey. He ran a hand through his dark hair, the last bit of it rough in his fingers from trying to pull at it. Mino was in the chair next to him, a disconcerting look on his face. The awkward tension in the room made Jiho want to snap somebody's neck-anybody's really.

"You need to calm down. You do this all the time," Mino groaned. "You're giving me a headache."

"She's different," Jiho shook his head no and looked up from the floor.

"You mean you feel different about her," Mino smirked.

"I met her two days ago. Why do you guys think I'm in love with her or some shit?" Jiho scoffed. He didn't love her. He didn't even like her. She was annoying and in the way and blunt and she fought for herself and she was brash and a little bit strong.

He didn't like her at all. Not in the slightest.

"So somebody else thinks so too," Mino threw his head back in laughter. "You live in the moment. You make decisions based on how you feel and you don't know how to think things through when it doesn't come to the family. She's got some hold on you."

"Sometimes I want to blow your head off," Jiho scoffed. Maybe he did like her a little bit. The way she laughed and snapped back at him despite who he was. That was what was the kicker. He could kill her, she knew that, but she still stood up for herself and kept a strong grip on herself.

That's why it killed him to do what he did. He had to show her who he really was. The question was if she was able to handle it.

Jaebum had made it sound like she was pulling through but he doubted it. The flash of hurt that had painted over her face as she ran out was still fresh in his mind. He didn't want to think of what she thought of him.

"Boss," Jiho heard from the door. Jiyong was standing with a hand on his knee and hunched down like he had ran from somewhere. "Audrey-she-somebody-"

"What about her?" Jiho crossed the room in two or three steps and pushed Jiyong to a standing position.

"She's gone," Jiyong finally breathed out, "Jaebum left her apartment but felt bad for not staying with her so he went back and when he got back she was gone. Her whole place was ransacked and her phone is still there."

Jiho pushed Jiyong out of the way, terrorizing thoughts filling his mind as he ran out of the house, Mino close behind. They reached his car about the same time and Jiho flung himself into the front seat of the car.

"Get Jaebum on the phone now," Jiho growled as he started the car instantly, throwing it into reverse.

"Already dialing," Mino muttered. The phone rang out on speaker and Jiho waited for the familiar voice to come through.

"I was only gone for ten minutes," he answered, "She isn't here or anywhere around her apartment. I can't find her."

"It's okay," Jiho felt bad for his friend. Audrey was closer to him than anybody else and he was already blaming himself. "Just stay at her apartment and I'll have Mino call some of our UC's to see if they've heard anything."

"Okay," Jaebum mumbled before hanging up.

"Call Donghyuk. He's the closest to Hyolyn," Jiho ordered. Mino nodded and dialed quickly. Donghyuk picked up within three rings, "Is she behind this?"

"Behind what?" Donghyuk sighed, annoyance in his voice.

"One of the newest members of the family just got kidnapped and Jiho is not happy about this," Mino filled him in.

"Oh," Donghyuk answered in a clipped tone.

"What do you know?" Jiho scoffed.

"Daesung. Check with him. All I know was he was supposed to carry out a hit tonight, but you know how Daesung is," Donghyuk turned to a whisper, "She probably isn't dead yet. You have time."

"Thanks," Mino hung up on him and Jiho floored the gas.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hello," I called out weakly before crying out again. Silence met me again and the air around me grew so cold I felt like I was actually dying.

I gave up, turning on my back to gain any other amount of strength. As soon as my eyes closed and I could feel the cold ground comforting me, the door flew open angrily.

"Are you done being annoying now?" a deep, nasally voice growled.

"What?" I croaked out, peaking one eye open, "Where am I?"

"God, no wonder she wants you dead," a tall man with hair covering most of his vision and a large blunt nose squatted down to get closer to me.

"Who wants me dead?" I spat out, some of spit landing on his face. He wiped it away and scoffed, glancing at his hand before looking down at me again. He raised it and swung hard against my face, a sting resonating as soon as his hand drew back. I whimpered as he smirked proudly.

"Keep your mouth shut or there's gonna be more of that," he licked his lips, looking over me, "No wonder Zico has close ranks over you."

He stood and started walking around the edges of the room, looking over every inch of the dark damp room. The silence grew intense as we both stayed quiet, just waiting for the other to speak.

"Good. You catch on quick," he finally spoke, "My name is Daesung. I was hired to kill you."

Silence met him again.

"You are a liability to Hyolyn and she doesn't really like liabilities," Daesung explained, "Now granted Jaebum will probably kill me for killing you, so I can't really go that far. You're lucky for that."

I swallowed thickly. How deep had Jaebum been in?

"Ah so you don't know much of Jaebum's past do you?" he smirked, "Did you know that him and Hyolyn used to date? Way before any turf wars or Zico and her took over?"

"No," I croaked out. Mistake. Daesung crossed over the room and kicked me hard in the ribs. I groaned, clutching them tightly.

"Anyways," Daesung slid a hand in his hair and pushed it back slightly as he continued, "They were what the kids call it 'in love' or whatever. Don Kwon found out and told Jaebum to break it off before he forced him too. Hyolyn wasn't having any of that so she forced the Don's to start an all out war."

Daesung paused to look at me in pain on the floor as a large grin grew across his face, "It was marvelous. The only reason I work for her, really. She's ruthless. Regardless, Jaebum found out what she did and he broke it off then and there. He told her she was unstable and crazy. She literally just went on a killing spree after that and took out all the generals above her and kept it secret until the Don's were out of the way and she could take over."

"Power suits her," Daesung sighed, "She should be the only one in this city who runs it but fucking Zico has to take over that half."

It was silent before he made his way over to me again, crouching slightly to get closer to my face, "I'm going to kill you. Jaebum deserves pain and loss in his life."

-

Jiho pulled up to her apartment in a hurry, not even bothering to fully turn off the car as he tore out of it. Mino was close behind and they both rushed inside to head towards the elevator.

"Boss," Mino panted as the elevator ride up, "You do know we only care because of Jaebum, right?"

"If it wasn't for Jaebum in the first place, none of this would be happening," Jiho growled, "Fucking Hyolyn."

"It's not his fault she's crazy," Mino warned, "But it is his fault we have to save this girl."

"Are you saying we just ignore this? And risk Jaebum's cooperation with his diner?" Jiho scoffed, "Fat chance."

"We can always find a different outlet. I still think the docks-" Mino started.

"The docks are an obvious place and I'm not going to bribe anymore police officers to look the other way," Jiho spat at Mino, "We're saving Audrey and we're going to get her out of this stupid apartment."

"Yes sir," Mino swallowed thickly, allowing the space between them to grow with tension. The doors opened and they walked into the loft space thrown in disarray. Jaebum was pacing back and forth as he watched the two of them enter.

"I've looked over everything and there's nothing that leads to where she is," Jaebum ran a hand threw his hair. 

"Donghyuk believes Daesung took her," Mino looked over at the flipped over couch, "This looks staged."

"That's what I was thinking," Jiho nodded as he looked at the broken bathroom door.

"Donghyuk?" Jaebum looked over with a confused glance.

"Insider," Jiho walked over to where he saw the same black dress ripped in a fashion that looked forceful and angry. 

"I should've stayed. I should've been here," Jaebum started to scream and looked around, "She trusted me. She believed in me and I let her down."

"Jaebum," Mino sighed, "This isn't your fault."

"No," Jiho grimaced, "It's mine."

-

Daesung left after that, leaving me to lie on the floor alone and cringing in pain. I didn't move, scared he'd be back to hurt me if I tried to move or if I tried to make a noise. It felt like hours before he came back in, wheeling in a medical stretcher. He lifted me up and set me down, strapping me in, a sadistic grin on his face. I let him, any will in me settling deep within me. 

"It's more fun like this," he grinned, "when they don't fight back."

"You're evil," I muttered.

"That's what they pay me for," Daesung tightened one of the straps and pulled in a small cart behind him. "Are you ready?"

"It doesn't really matter what I say does it?" I licked my lips and looked over at the cart. The number of tools and knives frightened me. So much for Zico protecting me, right?

"Maybe it does," Daesung smiled. It was sickening. A smile like that didn't deserve to be on a man who was seconds away from killing me. "You know what? I have a good idea. How about a goodbye call? I love to tease my prey."

"What?" I swallowed thickly. He pulled my phone from his back pocket and I watched as he used my finger to unlock it. He scrolled through my contacts and pulled up Jaebum's contact.

"Ah," he pressed call and we both listened to it ring.


	11. Chapter 11

Being on the ocean is relaxing. Cool ocean breeze in your hair, sand in between your toes, the hint of coconut dancing in the air. It's the sense of a vacation and destressing that encircles the beach in a meticulous manner that draws most people in.

That's how being with Jiho made me feel. His smile was the ocean breeze, piercing through every inch of my soul. His touch felt like sand passing through my toes, stress disappearing instantly. His own scent mimicked that of the coconut warmth that greeted everybody as soon as you stepped on the warm beach.

It was comfort I found in Jiho. At first. Then, it slowly became fear. The fear of a shark in the water, ready to strike at every turn when threatened. The fear of drowning if I swam out to far. The fear of being burnt underneath the sun.

Being there, tied up and the threat of death looming over me, I thought about Jiho and his smile once more. Even though there was fear, there was still comfort.

 

"I need you to call everybody you can to find out his location. He's somewhere in the city," Jiho ordered Mino, who nodded and moved to go call.

"Let me go talk to Hyolyn. This is because of me," Jaebum pleaded Jiho, crossing the trashed living room.

"No," Jiho shook his head. "I can't have you getting hurt or taken."

"You know I won't," Jaebum grabbed Jiho's arm with a tight grip.

"No," Jiho frowned again, "Instead you're going with me."

Jaebum tilted his was slightly in confusion and watched as Jiho turned to the door, heading out. "Where are we going?"

"To search," Jiho answered over his shoulder. "Mino stay here."

Jaebum stayed frozen for a moment before following him out the door. He didn't know what they could find without knowing any form of location first but maybe he had been out for too long. Jiho always knew much more than he ever did. As soon as they got to the car, Jiho looked around the car, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Once he felt safe, he opened the door to climb into the drivers seat. Jaebum got in with him, silent as he did.

"Where we going?" he asked as Jiho pulled away from the sidewalk.

"I've always tracked Daesung's latest hideouts just in case. He's always been on Hyolyn's side since everything that happened. I didn't want him coming after you and if something happened I wanted to know where he was," Jiho drove stoically.

"Are you serious?" Jaebum scoffed, "So you know where she could be?"

"I know his latest hideout but that was reported to me three months ago. He usually moves once a month," Jiho's jaw clenched, "But I doubted that I needed to keep following him. He hadn't done anything at all."

Jaebum stayed silent for a moment, "It's a start right?"

 

They had been driving for a couple of hours when Jaebum's phone rang. He almost didn't answer it, not wanting to care about anything else but when he looked down, his heart dropped.

"Audrey?" he answered. Jiho stepped on the brakes and they slammed to a halt. Jaebum put it on speaker and they listened to silence for a moment.

"Jaebum?" she sounded faint and distant.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" Jaebum asked quietly.

"I'm-" she stopped for a second, "I'm okay. For now."

"Does he have you?" Jaebum asked for a second, "Daesung?"

"You guys are smart," a thick, teasing voice came in.

"I swear to god if you hurt her-" Jaebum started but Daesung's loud laugh interrupted him.

"Classic Jaebum. Come and find me then," Daesung taunted before a loud scream pierced through the call, "She bleeds easily."

"Leave her alone you sick son of a bitch," Jaebum screamed and Jiho took the phone from him.

"Daesung," he greeted.

"Oh Zico's there, two for the price of one!" Daesung laughed.

"Hyolyn's problem isn't with her. It's with us. Let her go," Jiho spoke slowly, each word a thought out process.

"Hmm," Daesung laughed, "Tempting. But no. I was paid for a certain target."

"Take me instead," Jaebum snatched the phone back.

"That's even more tempting," Daesung laughed louder.

"No, no. Jaebum he'll kill the both of us," Audrey pleaded.

"Shut up," Daesung growled. Audrey screamed loudly again, "That one might scar. How about this? Find me, pay me what Hyolyn was going to, and I'll let everybody live."

"How much?" Jiho asked as he pulled out his phone to pull up Mino's contact.

"$400,000," Daesung grinned, "A little cheap for me but hey, at least I'll get paid."

"Shit," Jiho grimaced, "Fine. Deal."

"I'm still going to hurt her. Until you get here. And I apologize if she's dead when you show up," Daesung hung up before either could say anything.

Jiho was already dialing Mino's number, "Anything?"

"I have an address but it's a large building," Mino spoke quickly.

"Text it to me and then meet me there in with four hundred," Jiho frowned.

"What?" Mino laughed, "That's-"

"I know. Just meet me there," Jiho hung up and as soon as Mino sent him the address, he plugged it into his maps app, pulling away instantly for them to go.

"I should've stayed," Jaebum paled.

"Yeah," Jiho laughed bitterly, "You should've. We needed you."

"It's not my fault I was dragged into this," Jaebum frowned.

"We all were," he turned sharply, ignoring the red light in front of him.

"You weren't," Jaebum grimaced, "I know what really happened."

"You aren't going to-" Jiho glanced worriedly over at the other.

"Don't worry. Your sick secret is with me," Jaebum looked out the window. They neared a large warehouse building and Jaebum's heart dropped, "This is my meat supplier."

"What?" Jiho stopped the car.

"I get all of my meat from them," Jaebum unbuckled his seatbelt, "I checked them out and they were clean, I swear."

"Keyword, were," Jiho frowned. "Knowing Hyolyn she's trying to get her fingers into every inch of what you do to mess me up."

"This is on your side of town Jiho," Jaebum swallowed as they got out of the car, "You do know that right? This means-"

"I know what it means," Jiho scoffed, "And it started the moment he took Audrey."

Jaebum opened his mouth to say something else but decided against it, crossing the street to the large building. All of this was geared to him. Hyolyn wasn't happy with him, still. It was going to end with him whether he liked it or not.

"Should we-" Jiho opened the large front door with ease, "That's not good."

"What did you expect?" Jaebum frowned.

"Kind of for it to be locked Jay," Jiho grumbled, "Let's not go this way."

"Fine," he stepped away from the door and started to round to the other side of the building. Jiho followed silently, hand already wrapped around the base of his gun, ready to pull at any second. They reached the back door in total silence and watched as two men casually talked quietly.

"Hyolyn's men," Jiho informed him. Jaebum nodded and let the older walk in front of him silently. The two of them reached the edge of the building before Jiho fired two shots, killing the men instantly. Jaebum flinched at the sounds of the bodies hitting the ground. Before he could process anything else, there was a loud, ear piercing scream coming from the inside of the building. His blood boiled and he didn't even think as he rounded the corner and headed towards the door. It was propped open with a half broken brick pulled from a semi-destroyed corner of the building. Jaebum swallowed as he opened it slowly and creeped inside, Jiho following closely behind. The two of them stayed silent as they stayed next to the wall. They creeped along until they reached a long slender staircase. An echo of a whimper floated down towards them as Jaebum walked quietly up the stairs. The tension was thick from the insane quiet between them.

Jiho stopped mid staircase and looked around at the mostly blacked out building. He couldn't see much but from what he could make out, there were two men by the front door, weapons drawn. The wash of relief flooded over Jiho and he looked back up to Jaebum who was still climbing up the stairs quietly. The thought of more men by the door scared him so he caught up and pressed his extra gun into Jaebum's hand. Give it all or nothing. The only thing they were waiting on was Mino with the money. He pulled out his phone to text Mino to come around to the back of the building, hoping he already wasn't heading towards the front. Jiho tapped Jaebum on the back to tell him to wait. The other peered down softly and watched as Jiho lifted his phone up to show his conversation with Mino. Jaebum nodded, worry etched into his face. They just had to wait.

 

I held my breath as I heard the two shots outside. They were here. Never would I have expected to be excited to have Zico coming. I swallowed thickly as I watched Daesung listen to the same shots. His eyes widened with fear, then with joy as he leaned forward and pressed the thick knife into my neck, causing a long line of blood to start seeping around the knife. I screamed, the pain unbearable to comprehend.

"Your boyfriend is almost here," Daesung grinned, "and Jaebum too. That'll be nice."

"Zico is not-" I started but the pain from my neck cut me off.

"Should've started there. Maybe it would've shut you up sooner," Daesung grumbled, his thick voice booming in the room. He was silent for a moment before he looked towards the door. "There should be more shooting. What's taking so long?"

He paved around the room, waiting for something. Anxious tension filled the room as he waited, second by second. Finally, one shot rang out, followed by two more. Daesung nearly jumped with glee as he came back towards me and pressed the knife against my neck again, waiting to apply pressure.

"Scream," he whispered into my ear. I did as he said, more blood coming out of my neck as I let out a loud and high pitched scream. Seconds later, the door flung open and Jaebum was standing there with a duffle bag and splattered with blood.

"Give her over," he growled. I had never seen him so angry and so scary before in my life.

"Got my money?" Daesung laughed manically.

"Here," he tossed the duffle bag over to him. Daesung lifted the knife with a smirk and waltzed over to the bag, humming as he went.

"She's all yours. Not really fun anyways," Daesung sang softly. His eyes passed over the room in victory.

"Tell Hyolyn she got what she wanted," Jaebum muttered, "And to stay away from Audrey. She's not in the middle of this."

"I'm not a messenger," Daesung laughed, "But I'm sure she's got the message. Since you killed her second in command out there."

Jaebum's eyes widened before softening as he unstrapped me, "Are you okay?"

I shook my head and let his eyes fall on my neck. Blood was still oozing out slowly and he caught on. He pressed a hand against it and started to lift me up slowly. Daesung sat with his money on the ground, a satisfied smirk growing across his face.

As soon as we left the room, Zico and Mino were standing there, ready with their guns drawn.  
So many people died because of me. To save me. Even if they were Hyolyn's men, that's still lives lost that I didn't want gone. My heart beat so fast that my head started to sway and I passed out in Jaebum's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's been awhile. Haven't really had much time on my hands lately but I'll try to keep updating regularly. You can always find me at @mascmvs :)


End file.
